James also refers to royal law as the law of liberty. When people keep the seventh commandment, it keeps the world free from adultery and fornication. When people keep the eighth commandment, it keeps the world free from theft. When people keep the ninth commandment, it keeps the world free from deception. Keeping God`s commandments keeps people free. When the Sabbath is kept, like the other commandments, it leads to freedom. It produces freedom. God`s law is a law that delivers. So what makes the law of charity a royal law? He is the king of laws because love for others fulfills all other laws. There must be something missing here! Yes, actually, some things are missing here. First, the word “royal” must be understood in its correct Jewish context. According to Strong`s concordance (G937), the word “royal” in Greek means royal, belonging to the sovereign or exceptional – king, noble, king.
In Hebrew, it is the word nadiyb, which, according to BDB, means: inclined, noble, princely in rank, noble in character. From this, we should see that the “Royal Torah (Law)” is above all the highest, comes from the highest, and stands above everything else. After all, it came from a king! The supreme king! In ancient times, Jews often attributed kingship to the Torah and often referred to it as the “crown of the Torah.” As a result, they say that the Israelites had crowns on their heads when the Torah was given to them on Mount Sinai. They believe that their crowns of royalty were taken from them when they made the golden calf. Those who envision being a “kingdom of priests” must ensure that they submit and obey this “royal” Torah. Such actions, however, violated James` exhortation to be the dog of the Word (1:22). The original audience to whom James was speaking had professed faith in Christ. But this profession was called into question when they raised the rich believers above the poorest.
These listeners should have known better because they knew God`s law. They should have known that it was only through the actual fulfillment of royal law that they would be shown as true Christians. By being biased, they violated this law (see Lev. 19:15) and could therefore only have an empty confession (James 2:8-9). Does this royal legislation have any relevance to us? He has none at all, for we are not under the law, but under grace. We must be guided by the inner spirit instead of being governed by external laws. Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). When He died on the cross, He died “for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world may be saved through him” (John 3:16–17). So, being a sinner means that you are the object of God`s love, a candidate for God`s salvation, and the reason Jesus came and died on the cross. In the book of Galatians, chapter 3, verse 24, it says, “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” James speaks of the “royal law,” that is, the Ten Commandments, citing the specific requirement: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” In this he corresponds to Christ and Paul, finding in charity the sum of the law and its true fulfillment.
James confirms that respect for persons is a violation of this “royal law” and leads to the condemnation of those who indulge in it by the law of transgression. What does Jesus teach? In Matthew 22:36, he was asked, “Master, what is the great commandment of the law?” His answer is instructive: “If you truly fulfill the royal law of Scripture, `Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,` then thou shalt be well” (James 2:8). Nor is it a royal law, because Jesus put His royal seal of approval on it. Jesus mentioned this law from time to time (Matthew 19:19), but He also spoke of other laws. He never said it was very special, and he even added something else (see Matthew 5:43–44). What is Royal Law? It is the commandment to love others as you love yourself. Royal law (literally the “royal” law that belongs to the king) has great significance for us today, and we should remember at least three facts as we look at it: no nation, not even the kingdom of God, can rule lawless men. There must be standards of conduct that citizens must follow, otherwise there will be chaos and lawlessness if everyone does what seems right to their own eyes (Judges 21:25). But “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). His kingdom will be peaceful and orderly because people will be led to voluntarily submit to His rule of law—His commandments.
This word is used only once in the New Testament and can be found here. One might ask where James got the idea to call the Torah “royal”? Well, I think it makes sense that he chose it from his Jewish heritage. After all, he was a Jew! In other words, James can say that the kingship of the Church (all its members) acts much better than that and loves the needy. (I agree.) Notice that the two Great Commandments include love. The first four of the Ten Commandments show man how to love God, and the second group of six show man how to love others. The commandments prevent love from being just an emotion and reveal how to apply love practically. As one commentator said, “Love is what you do.” It is unfortunate that so many pulpits today are silent about this commandment. We all know many things we shouldn`t do, but who intends to preach when we preach against the violation of royal law? Unbelievers have an idea of how Christians should live, but it is often different from the expectations Christians have of themselves. People expect Christians to be like Christ, but they don`t often think of Christlikeness in terms of the number of services we attend per week, the generosity of our church, or worldly habits we`ve renounced. They think that a person who lives like Jesus will love and act like his neighbor.
Now, other inconsistencies may affect the credibility of a believer`s testimony, but neglecting royal law can destroy an unbeliever`s confidence that he is somehow a follower of Christ. If you fulfill the royal law according to the scriptures, you will love your neighbor as yourself, and you will do it well; But if you have respect for people, you sin and you are convinced of the law as transgressors. —James 2:8-9 8 For if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the scriptures: Love thy neighbor as thyself, all will be well. 9 However, if you show favoritism, you commit a sin and you are condemned by law as an offender. 10 For he who observes the whole law, and yet stumbles, is guilty of having broken all things. 11 For whoever said, Do not commit adultery, he also said, Do not kill. So if you don`t commit adultery, but murder, you`re an offender. Some people would say that Yahweh`s commandments were the 10 commandments, and that is all we need to keep.